Low-Carb Black Bean Spaghetti with Creamy Asparagus Sauce

Low carb black bean spaghetti with creamed asparagus: never mind zoodles! Try this and you’ll ditch the zucchini for a while.

Zucchini, often called courgettes in the UK, is a favourite in low-carb kitchens. Fried, stuffed, baked, steamed, roasted, sautéed, raw or spiralized into noodles, this humble vegetable is a go-to for many ketogenic meals. It has even inspired its own vocabulary and tools. Zoodles are everywhere and for good reason — zucchini is versatile, healthy and easy to cook.

I decided to develop this low carb black bean spaghetti with creamed asparagus because I love pasta and wanted something closer to the real thing than spiralized vegetables. I enjoy zoodles—especially with seafood—but they don’t always satisfy the pasta craving. Then, on a shopping trip, I discovered black bean spaghetti. At first I dismissed it because beans are typically high in carbs, but the nutrition surprised me: this pasta is lower in carbs than traditional wheat pasta, even if not strictly “keto” by itself.

Curiosity won, and I bought a pack. It turned out to be a great discovery. While not carb-free, black bean spaghetti can be enjoyed in controlled portions and delivers a texture and mouthfeel closer to pasta than vegetable noodles.

I bought it as a novelty, but after trying it I was hooked.

You might ask what’s the catch. The term low-ish applies because these noodles are lower in carbs than typical pasta but not so low that you can eat large quantities. After testing portion sizes, I find 50g dry per person works well. It may look small once cooked, but the noodles are surprisingly filling when paired with a generous sauce.

Availability can be limited — some stores stock it and others don’t — but you can often find black bean spaghetti online. It may cost more than cheap wheat pasta, but remember each 200g pack yields multiple servings, making it reasonable for a specialty ingredient.

Cooking black bean spaghetti is straightforward.

Cook them much like ordinary pasta: bring salted water to a boil, add the spaghetti, cover to bring the water back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about five minutes. Drain using a fine sieve rather than a large colander, as these noodles are thinner. They tend to cool quickly, so time your sauce to be hot and ready when the pasta drains.

Do they taste exactly like wheat pasta? No — nothing replicates wheat perfectly — but they are closer to the pasta experience than zoodles. For this recipe I chose creamed asparagus because asparagus is seasonal and pairs beautifully with creamy, cheesy sauces.

How to make low carb black bean spaghetti with creamed asparagus

This recipe is quick and easy. Grate the Parmesan and crumble the Gorgonzola. Put a pan of salted water on to boil for the pasta. Asparagus cooks fast, so get it ready while the water heats. I like using scissors to remove the tips — it’s faster and neater than a knife. A brief blitz in a blender or mini chopper turns the stalks into a smooth puree. Gently warm that puree with butter, cream and the cheeses until melted and smooth. Drain the pasta and plate: a bed of creamed asparagus topped with drained black bean spaghetti, the reserved asparagus tips and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast finishes the dish.

And voilà — low carb black bean spaghetti with creamed asparagus, ready to serve.

This dish is delicious and comes in at approximately 14.5g carbohydrates per serving when portioned as suggested.

Enjoy!

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